No Time Like The Present
by Tanith2011
Summary: What could possibly be Steve's worst nightmare on Valentine's Day?


_**AN: To those who celebrate the occasion, I hope you all had a lovely Valentines Day :-) This little story was written in response to a series of prompts for a writing challenge. Prompts are in bold. text. **_

_**A Valentine's Day dedication to the lovely ladies of the Yahoo SOSF Group.**_

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the original characters, locations or canon information depicted in the series "The Streets of San Francisco". I'm just borrowing them for my pleasure and hopefully the enjoyment of others._

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**"I told her years ago that if she still thought that way after gettingher degree to call me..."**

Mike's face reddened with each word that slipped out of his partner's mouth. Surely, Steve did not mean what he thought he meant? "Steve! I don't believe it!" He thundered.

Keller reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.** He felt suddenly flush with fever** as Mike's eyes scalded his very being. What am I saying? It's like I lost control over myself. The words tumbled out and there was no stopping them. "Oh come on, Mike! I know you're mad. Just let me explain, okay?"

Mike took a deep unsteady breath, in an attempt to calm himself down but to no avail. **"Before we get into all this, I just want an answer!" he barked.**

"It was Valentine's Day and we had the house to ourselves. Besides, Jeannie's an adult now and we both…."

Wrong answer. Steve braced himself and leaned back as Mike lunged out of his seat and made a grab for his shirt. The sudden movement overturned his chair and Steve fell back with a crash to the floor.

"Steve! Buddy boy, are you alright?" Mike's concerned voice echoed in Steve's still ringing ears. The young inspector shook his head and gave a yelp when he looked up and saw Mike's face was mere inches from his own.

Rolling his eyes, Mike straightened up from his crouched position and rested his hands on his hips. "What's the matter with you?"

Steve took a few deep breaths and continued to stare at Mike before licking his dry lips and croaked, "You're not still mad at me are you?"

"Mad? Now why would I be mad? You had a long night on that stakeout and you look like hell. I'm not surprised you nodded off. Why don't you go home and get some shut eye before you take another tumble? Come on, let me help you up," Mike reached down and helped Steve get to his feet then righted the chair that had fallen.

Still confused and feeling miserably exhausted, Steve raked his fingers through his unruly hair. "What day is it?"

"It's still Friday," Mike grinned. "I only left you here for a few minutes."

"Oh, Friday…Friday as in Valentine's Day?" Steve spluttered.

"Trust you to remember what day it is when it comes to Valentine's Day! If you had plans, you might want to consider re-scheduling, Romeo. You can barely stand up let alone string two words together."

"Plans? Believe me, I have no plans. In fact I am not leaving the house. My house that is. You know, I think I'll …I'll just stay in bed. I mean I'll be sleeping. On my own. Sleeping, that is." Steve let out a nervous chuckle as his mind flashed back to the nightmare he had just woken up from. Admittedly, it hadn't started out as a nightmare for him and this very thought was enough to make him blush intensely from head to toe. Fortunately for him, a sudden thought distracted Mike from his scrutiny of his partner's physical appearance.

"You know what? I just remembered that Jeannie's on her way home. Why don't I drop you off at my place and you can take a nap on the sofa. A good hearty meal will do you some good. You look like you've lost a few pounds…"

Steve's eyes widened in horror. While he was all too familiar with Jeannie's culinary skills and he would like nothing more than to see her again, the dream he had was too real for comfort. "Really? I don't feel like I've lost any weight. I think I'll just head on home. I won't be good company today."

"Okay, now I am concerned. You've never turned down a meal at my place before especially when Jeannie's cooking. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just really tired," Steve faked a yawn which wasn't too difficult to manage.

"Alright," Mike sighed then an idea occurred to him and he broke into a smile. "Why don't I swing by your place later on and bring you leftovers?"

Steve visibly relaxed for the first time since he fell asleep at Mike's desk. "Thanks, Mike. That would be great!"

With a friendly clap on the shoulder, Mike steered his protégé out of the office and together they left the bureau without another word.

End


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